Wrapping up a statewide bus tour in Austin, Van de Putte made it clear that education will be one of the marquee issues of her campaign and a key difference between her and the Republican nominee.

Both Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and state Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston supported the unprecedented $5.4 billion funding reduction for public schools in 2011 and are now “bragging” about it to win Republican primary votes, she charged.

“I fought against the horrendous cuts,” Van de Putte said at a news conference outside a South Austin elementary school.

Dewhurst and Patrick will face off in a runoff election on May 27 to decide their party’s nominee for lieutenant governor this fall.

“Thousands of teachers lost their jobs. The cuts caused overcrowded classrooms across the state and programs that were ensuring student success were ripped apart,” she said.

Dewhurst disputed Van de Putte’s claim of reduced funding, saying state dollars increased. Patrick said the Democrat just wants to see a big increase in state spending.

“With liberals, even if you increase funding but not as much as they want, then it is a called a cut,” he said.

Dewhurst acknowledged that federal funds were cut. Because enrollment continued to grow, schools saw significant reductions in per-pupil funding. Many districts have yet to fully catch up to where they were before the cuts.

Logan Spence, a spokesman for Patrick, said the Republican “looks forward to letting Texas voters choose between his record and platform of education reforms against Van de Putte’s push for more spending.”

Van de Putte also cited the current courtroom fight pitting hundreds of school districts against the state. A state judge is expected to rule next month on arguments by the districts that the finance system is unfair and does not provide enough money for schools to meet state standards.

“School districts have been forced to go to the courthouse to make the Legislature do its constitutional duty to provide adequate resources,” she said. “We shouldn’t have to have a court tell us what is right to do.”

State attorneys have argued in court that schools receive enough funding to properly educate their students as evidenced by rising test scores and other measures.